Real Friends

January 18, 2008|By Jane Green, Special to the Farm Forum

Real friends come in all sizes, shapes, and species. One of my true blue friends was an animal. His name was Hi-Fi and he was a buckskin colored horse measuring 16 hands in height. I called him Hi-Fi because he was so tall and gangly when I first got him. He had a very long slender neck and also very long slender legs. Dad and I bought him in April of 1960 at a local horse auction in Watertown. At the sale I had sold my blue roan Shetland pony, Tony, and bought this yearling horse colt which I named Hi-Fi. Several horse people tried to talk dad and I out of buying this green colt. But, it was love at first sight between the colt and me. Something about his big brown eyes told me that we would be friends, and that is exactly what happened. Never once in all the years that I owned him, did Hi-Fi buck me off, scrape me off under a tree, or run too close to a barbed wire fence and scratch my arms and legs. My previous steed Tony had done all of the above and much more. I wanted nothing more to do with a Shetland pony. As I stated before, Hi-Fi was a green colt broke to lead and tie and that was it. By the end of the first summer, I was able to put small kids on his back and lead him around. He would let me lift all of his legs and he never kicked. Because he was progressing so well, I was encouraged to enter him in horse 4-H. There were only three horses in that first 4-H competition for Codington County. My school friend Mary Roth showed her red and white spotted horse Apache Red, another young 4-Her had his old brown pony, and I exhibited my buckskin colt. Hi-Fi received a blue ribbon in showmanship and a blue ribbon in grooming that first time. My horse loved all the attention and I promised him that he would receive purple ribbons in both competitions the next year. I was only in the seventh grade when I bought Hi-Fi and I had him until I was 21 years of age. Almost ten years of true love between an animal and a girl resulted in his being shown many times both at halter and in riding competitions. He did receive many purple ribbons and trophies, but more important than all the awards was the fun we had together. My horse friend Mary Roth would ride her horse Apache Red several miles to our farm and then the two of us with our horses would go riding for hours. We had such good times out in Dad's hay meadow or taking our horses for a swim in the Sioux River. Mary and I put our two horses through some grueling antics but never once did our horse pals harm us. One of our favorite things to do was to get out my dad's old harnesses from his former workhorses. We would work for hours putting these harnesses on our horses and trying to get them hitched correctly. Dad or my mom would eventually come to our rescue and help us. Naturally, the harnesses were too big for our riding horses and made them look comical, but we had fun in the process. I know Mary's mother took pictures of us with our silly looking harnessed horses. Another thing about Hi-Fi was that he knew exactly who was riding him and respected their abilities. If I put one of my young nieces or nephews on his back, he acted just like an old plug. His head would be down and he would circle the fenced house yard very slowly. The young kids thought this was great that they could ride a big horse all by themselves. My sister Lois was no horse rider either, but she would ride Hi-Fi and he would plug along for her. However, when my brother-in-law Howard got on Hi-Fi's back, he knew that someone with experience was on him. "Hi Hoe Silver Away" was the response that Howard received from Hi-Fi. My horse always gave Howard a fast thrilling ride. I went off to college in the fall of 1965, and my horse became very lonely. Dad had to spend time petting him because I wasn't there. Whenever I came home from school, my buckskin would come racing down the pasture whinnying for me to greet him. I usually went out and talked to Hi-Fi first before I came in the house and greeted my family. Dad sold Hi-Fi in the spring of 1968. I had married and moved to Texas. It was a sad day when I received the check in the mail for my horse. I didn't blame my parents for selling him because I guess he had really gotten to be a pest for dad. Hi-Fi wanted attention and Jane wasn't there to pamper him anymore. Since owning Hi-Fi, I have probably ridden a horse less than a half a dozen times. Riding just doesn't give me the thrill it once did. I still enjoy horses, rodeos, and new baby colts. But whenever I see a buckskin colored horse, I always take a second look and remember my good friend Hi-Fi. Jane Green and her husband Jim live near Clark. She has published a collection of her stories in a book entitled, Plain Jane's Misadventures.